On Our Horizon: Shakedown At The Majestic - Across Silent Hearts

Shakedown At The Majestic - In Control (from the forthcoming EP).

Background - Shakedown At The Majestic was formed in New York City by guitarist Chris Vermillion and drummer Taylor Nimtz. They have become well known in the power pop underground and for bringing fun, energetic, superbly played performances to the music scene. Jonathan Vermillion (Chris’s brother) also plays guitar in the band, and after they moved out to Seattle, they added Rob Moura on bass. 
Their debut, self-titled EP was produced by legendary recording innovator and Stranger genius Steve Fisk (Nirvana,The Posies, Screaming Trees) for release Friday, November 6, 2015.

Shakedown At The Majestic’s name evokes the bamalama and bomp of British Invasion bands, as well as fuelled-up garage groups from a few years out and beyond. The signature style of singles like “Run For Your Life” and “In Control” feature tightly woven harmonies and interweaving vocal melodies, drawing from rock and pop's early years but delivering something altogether unique. 
At once nostalgic and freshly energetic, in their short time as a band SATM has played shows in some of the best venues in NYC and Seattle, developing a fervent fan-base of followers. They played the finals of the NYC Emergenza Music Festival at Webster Hall and were a mainstay of the monthly "Hipster Demolition Night" held at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, a showcase for NYC's best up-and-coming power pop bands. They also headlined Liahonaroo, a music festival in Nashville, Tennessee in 2012. 

More recently, since moving to the West Coast, SATM has headlined at the Lo-Fi and rocked the legendary Sunset as well as played the International Pop Overthrow here in Seattle; performed at the Vancouver International Pop Overthrow on Labor Day weekend; and The Viper Room in West Hollywood.

A modern twist on sixties guitar pop? Well listen to the whole EP and you realise it's a whole lot more than that. The featured track does however have a little sixties feel to it, no criticism, it's a great song from an EP, to look forward to, in November.

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Across Silent Hearts - Like A Brother (from the album 'Anyway').

Background - 'Across Silent Hearts' formed in 2012 is a rock band from Minsk, Belarus. Starting out a Metalcore band, they transcended to their new college rock style by 2015.

The band was formed by drummer Igor Kononchuk and guitarist Anton Chernik. With the addition of Pavel Smolin, “ASH” recorded and released their first full length recording "On your side" 2013. It was a good opportunity to gain experience in the Studio, as well expand into some serious musical and artistic territories. The first track of the album "Above the sky" shows how rock guitar solos can actually sound. 
The band continued to grow in 2014, performing at concerts in Minsk and other cities in Belarus. In 2015 the new album is about to show what the band really sounds like.

Current band members: 
Pavel Smolin - vocals 
Anton Chernik - guitar 
Vitovt Kashkurevich - bass 
Nikita Gatovko - samples 
Igor Kononchuk - drums

I have only heard a couple of tracks from the album, both impressed me, they are far more original than their earlier 'metal' numbers, and for me, much more likeable.

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Musical Influences: Saint Cole - Electric Parlor - Moana

Saint Cole - Within This Skin.

About Saint Cole - Nic (vocals/producer/DJ) and Curt (guitar/keys) are from a small town called Dewsbury in West Yorkshire just two miles from Morley, home of the legendary nineties techno night The Orbit. Heavily influenced by this scene and the now legendary stories surrounding the club, Nic started producing and mixing hard dance/techno. 

Saint Cole represents Nic's passion for dance music fused with his love of indie/rock. He cites influences as diverse as The Beatles, The Stone Roses, The La's, Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Leftfield. Saint Cole was born when he started working with his life long friend Curt. The duo were soon joined by third band member Martin Kolcak who is based in Slovakia and contributes artwork, visuals and animation. Neither Nic nor Curt have met Martin yet, though this is set to change when Saint Cole embark on a tour in summer 2016, complete with live visuals.

Their debut E.P to be released Friday the 13th of November 2015.

The first thing that came to mind with the eclectic range of influences cited above was, 'that's a pretty impressive line up, I hope you are not overstating your abilities'. Well in fairness they are only influences, not comparisons, however I have to say this is a pretty impressive debut EP. Plenty of energy and diversity and yes on the featured track, I did think of The Stone Roses at one point, that said, I think it fair to say they really do have enough of their own talent shining through. Well worth checking them out.


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Electric Parlor - Reckless.

Background - Los Angeles quartet Electric Parlor deal in a pure form of visceral, groove-based rock n’ roll; integrating the blues and soul of yesteryear but with a modern feel.

Members Josh Fell, Kris Far and Zachary Huling all moved to LA around the same time and found LA native Monique Alvarez to round out the group in 2012. Following their passion for music, they all came in search of each other with a goal of ending up in a one of a kind rock ‘n’ roll band. By 2013 the dream was realised and Electric Parlor found itself trail-blazing through the underground music scene in Los Angeles.

“We feel like one of Electric Parlor’s missions is to re-open people’s eyes to the blues, the way bands did in the 60’s and 70’s” guitarist Kris Far explains. “And not in a subjective way... we’re a working class band and have taken a lot of risks to make this a reality. We believe that this reckless abandon - to fight for what we feel is ours - translates into our music”.

 In 2013 the band worked up enough capital to record their self-titled debut in true ‘analogue to tape’ fashion at Big Scary Tree Studios in Sunland, CA. The resulting LP captures the bands unique live energy and spotlights lead vocalist Monique Alvarez’s compelling howl; a combo referred to by the band as the lovechild of Black Sabbath and Janis Joplin. “We want to be part of the ongoing evolution of rock n’ roll” reflects drummer Zachary Huling. “Being a part of this lineage is what drives us forward”.

The featured track is pretty representative of Electric Parlor's album. It's a solid unpretentious piece of work, with genuine passion and flare. In my opinion the Black Sabbath and Janis Joplin references are reasonable to a point, but not really that necessary as the band 'cut it', in their own right. Vinyl lovers may want to check out a limited offer (here).

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Moana - Elephant Bones.

What Their Promo Says - There’s something wonderfully ominous brewing in the bowels of an unlikely place. At home between the likes of St Vincent and The Church on Xpress Magazine’s Reviewers Picks for Top 10 Albums of 2014 and Tone Deaf’s 15 Incredible Unsigned Aussie Bands You Need To Hear Right Now, Perth band Moana are delivering us a psychedelic acid-art, jungle rock single ‘Elephant Bones’. 

Not undeserving of the plethora of critical acclaim and audience adoration coming their way, Moana are masterfully testing the boundaries where multiple art forms collide. In an attempt to break the arduous release cycles often expected from emerging bands, Moana Lutton devised splitting their second EP into three parts, with three separate release dates throughout 2015. Each release would comprise of two new tracks recorded at Debaser Studios with Andrew Lawson, a piece of collaborative visual art and music video. 

The freshest slice of this three-part release features a music video for ‘Elephant Bones’ directed by the magical, long-time collaborator Via Luna Pictures, along with a cross- collaborative artwork by Kuba Kujawa of Denmark. Likened to an “iteration of the dark, arty and angry female voice” (Xpress) made famous the likes of PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, Moana Lutton describes ‘Elephant Bones’ as “a song of fear and ecstasy collided; the exhilaration of chaos and transformation in a wild and dark world; celebrating the madness and absurdity of it all." 

After screening ‘Elephant Bones’ to a sold out crowd at The Bird, Perth on August 1st, the final installment and full EP The Trilogy of the Black Monsoon will be launched at The Odd Fellow, Fremantle on the 31st of October. An Australia- wide tour is set to be announced shortly after.

'Elephant Bones' reminds me a little of Jefferson Airplane, however let me qualify that and say 'at their best'. Being a Krautrock fan for those of you with long enough memories, there is also in my opinion, a touch of Amon Duul II. More importantly there is plenty of Moana and they have something going here that spans generations, one for my weekend playlist.

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'Young Hearts Run Free' - Kirsten Izer - Jennifer Budd

Kirsten Izer - Wave.

Background, promo and plaudits from others - 19 year old indie alternative-pop singer, Kirsten Izer, announces the release of her debut EP, What If This Is It?, which is set to drop on September 25, 2015. Every track on the EP is written, performed and produced by the singer/songwriter, whose “style is wild and free while adding a distinctive note of extravaganza to a familiar pop formula” (Nothing But Hope and Passion).

After graduating high school, the NJ-based singer/songwriter decided to hold off on college so she could continue writing songs and begin a career in music. However, giving into to the pressure of society, she held off on making her own music and began working for other musicians full-time at the young age of 18 years old. After a stressful year of pretending to be an adult, Izer decided to finally quit her job, start being a teenager, and more importantly, start making music for herself. The EP features Izer’s single, “Wave,” with “fuzzed-out guitars [that] mesh impeccably with effervescent melodies” and “a wonderful chorus that you can’t get out of your head” (PopMatters). She recently went wide with her first single, “Burning Out,” which was praised by The Revue, who said she has an “innate ability to channel her deepest emotions and fears not only through her words but the power of her guitar.” The track topped charts on music platforms such as Tradiio and Veromuse as well. 

“It is rare to hear a voice with character that instantly engages you” and Izer’s lo-fi recordings “feel a bit like demos but the raw nature only enhance the listening experience” (American Pancake). Her debut EP, What If This Is It?, is set to be released on September 25, 2015 and she will be touring in support next fall.

So lets just add that Beehive Candy reckons 'Wave' to be full of wonderfully raw, simplistic and indie rock/pop meets 80's new wave beauty. The EP is a must have.

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Jennifer Budd - Don't Even.

Bio and words from Jennifer - Growing up in Ontario, Canada, I fell in love with music early on. My mother, was a church singer who raised me on musicals and folk legends. I went to countless theatre camps mostly at the world-known Shakespeare Festival Theatre. At age fourteen, I began song writing. Today I release my first single/video called "Don't Even".

The video represents a disconnect within a relationship, an unfolding and refolding of events. The tension is piercing as the couple acts out their frustration. Pieces brake and get put back together just to fall apart again.

My time spent in University, in Nashville and with my new producer Michael Keire made this project possible. It reinforced my groundings in folk music while expanding my interest in neo-soul & R&B. Can't wait to share my debut record entitled "Lip Service" out November 13th. For now, I hope you like the video! 

The video is on our 'BeeVids' page, musically this is a strong debut track, part anthem and part story, the song is not reliant on a video to convey the passion but none the less, this adds to the interest.

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Chris and Carla - Paradiso, Holland 2007 (Internet Archive).

From the Internet Archive this is Chris and Carla recorded live back on March 12th 2007, at The Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I am sure that most reading this will know that Chris and Carla is a side project by the pair who are part of the band The Walkabouts. Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

In 1984 they moved to Seattle, and the band (The Walkabouts) was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout.

As can be seen form the following piece from Wikipedia Chris and Carla have been extremely active musicians down the years - Eckman and Torgerson have also released albums as side projects under the name "Chris & Carla" and as solo artists. Carla Torgerson has worked with Greek musician Akis Boyatzis and his band Sigmatropic on their album 16 Haiku & Other Stories (2001). Later Torgerson has released a solo album Saint Stranger (2004) with help of Akis Boyatzis. Chris Eckman has worked in 1996-2003 with Norvegian band Midnight Choir and teamed with Al DeLoner of Midnight Choir in Electronica-project called "Höst" for an album The Damage Suite (2001). Also Eckman has worked in recent years with Willard Grant Conspiracy on the albums Regard The End and Let It Roll, as well as with The Bambi Molesters. Eckman is also a member of the trio Dirtmusic along with Chris Brokaw and Hugo Race and he has worked with the band Tamikrest from Mali. These two acts toured Europe as a double bill in the spring of 2010. Eckman has also worked with Tosca (band) on projects including the song "John Lee Huber", and with Rupert Huber of Tosca (band) on the album "L/O/N/G".

Recording Technical Details:  Soundboard - Edirol R09 (WAV 24 bit / 44.1 KHz mode) - Adobe Audition 2.0 (remastering and downmix to 16 bit mode) - CDWAV.

Sound Quality: Excellent soundboard.

Set List:

01. Acetylene
02. The Stopping-Off Place
03. Taking Leave Of Our Senses
04. At The Twilight's Last Gleaming
05. Black Rope Tied
06. Long Slow River
07. The Light Will Stay On
08. Jack Candy
09. Things We Should Have Known
10. Raise Them Hands
11. Whatever It Takes
12. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone
13. New Love Ends
14. Fly High Brave Dreamers
15. Soundcheck Snippets
- Raise Them Hands
- Long Time Here
- Before This City Wakes

Chris Eckman - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals.
Carla Torgerson - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard, vocals.

Website: The Walkabouts Facebook - Here.

Comments: There are FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and mp3 files along with the streaming material over at the Internet Archive (here).

Stream Below: